Five tips to create a working fall wardrobe – Tip #2

Shoe wardrobe assessment and maintenance

This post is the second of my five post series on how to build a working wardrobe for fall without breaking the bank. Last time, I talked about the importance of and how to take stock and identify which clothes are needed to update your look, which items require fixing, and which items have to be replaced. See tip #1 of how to create a working fall wardrobe at the link, if you missed the post. This post covers assessment of what shoes to splurge on and which shoes are worth up-cycling and/or repair or need maintenance or overhaul for being ready for the the fall. Recall

Tip #2

Shoes can make or break an outfit. #agelessstyle Click To Tweet
Thus, when you wear an average shoe size or you have a hard time to get your size, you want to get ahead of the curve to still have the pick at the litter. Take a look at your shoes from last fall and winter. Identify which one you have to replace, which one were last year’s trend item, but are not so you any more, and which one you have to bring to the cobbler. Do the latter on your next trip to the mall so you have them ready when temperatures drop.

Replace shoes with shoes from the same category

Now ask yourself in what kind of category the shoes fall that need to be replaced. If they are your go-to workhorse, you want to splurge on them. If they are the trendy item from last season, ask yourself which of the many new trends is the most you and fits your style. Think about how much this trend is worth for you, how often you expect to wear the trendy shoes – your experience with last year’s trendy item is a good first guess – and set an upper limit. A good ballpark is not more than $1 per wear.

Do some pre-shopping to see what’s out there

Browse at the mall or online stores for the type of shoes you have to replace. In the former case, take photos and notes where you saw them and ask how many exist in your size and whether they would hold them for you for 24 hours. In case of online shopping just bookmark them. Once you have an idea what is out there go home. In case of online stores, bookmark the sides with the shoes you like.

Assess whether to spurge or not

Make up your mind what is most important for you in the kind of item you have to buy. If you are replacing your go-to every day workhorse get the most “classic” and highest quality item you can afford. Here I mean classic in the sense of typical for the style you wear. In the case of street style, it may be black booties with chains or booties where you can add shoes jewelry to get the style, in the case of casual style, it may be sneakers or riding boots. You get the idea.

Avoid affection purchases

On the next day, ask yourself whether you are still in love with your choice. <3 If so go get it. If not, keep on browsing. Repeat until the job is done.

Wearing a taupe Burberry Brit trench coat to stay warm on a day with temperatures in the upper 60s and 50% chance of rain over a 3/4 sleeve Liz Clairborne denim shirt dress. The dress is tied with an ethnic belt. The combination of neutral tan, denim blue and dove are a fool proof classic European color combination to try

What shoes do you need to replace for fall? Do you have an easy to shop for size where the cute things sell out fast? Or do you have a shoe size at the upper or lower end of the size chart, which is hard to find? Let me know what your shopping challenges are so I can help you. Just send me an email.

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